High-pressure-gas-well packer.



L. E. ROBINSON.

HIGH PRESSURE GAS WELL PACKER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9. I9I6.

Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

0/2, Inventor Attorneys Witnesses UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

LAWRENCEiE. ROBINSON, OF COFFE YVILLE, KANSAS.

- HIlEGH-PRESSURE-GAS-WELL PACKER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAWRENCE E. ROBIN- spN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cofl'eyville, in the county of Montgomery and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful High-Pressure-Gas-Well Packer, of which the following is a specification.

The device forming the subject matter of this application is a packer for a well, and one object of the present invention is to provide, in a device of this type, shearing members of different strengths, adapted to permit the. successive operation of telescoping members which serve to expand the packing element.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide novel means whereby gas under high pressure may be permitted to escape on the outside of the well tubing while the tubing and the packing mechanism are being lowered, the construction being such that after the tubing and the packing mechanism are lowered, the gas will be directed through the tubing. Another object of the invention is to pro vide novel means whereby the packing element may be securely held on one of the telescoping members during the lowering of the structure in the well, the construction being such that after the device strikes the bottom of the well, a portion of the packing element will be out 01f, thus permitting a downward movement of the telescoping member with respect to the packing.

It is withinthe province of thedisclosure to improve generally and to enhance the utility of devices of that type to which the present invention appertains.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in' the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of-the invent on.

In the accompanying drawings-:'F1gur e 1 shows in vertical longitudinal section, a

packing mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention, the struc- .ture being in' the position which it .will

assume while itis being lowered into the well, parts being omitted; Fig. 2 ma ver- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 26, 1916. c k

Application filed May 9, 1916. Serial'No. 96,373.

ture appears in the form it will assume after being lowered into the well; Fig. 3 is a detail enlarged from F ig. 1 and showing the knife in the position which it will assume before a portion of the packing element has been cut off by the knife to free the packing element; Fig. 4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the knife in the position it will occupy after a portion of the packing element has been severed.

In the accompanying drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the bore of a Well in the upperend of which is mounted a casing 2 provided with a cap 3. Mounted to reciprocate in the cap 3 is a pipe 1 carrying a yoke 5 held in place by clamping bolts 6. A yoke 7 is clamped on the casing 2 beneath the cap .be understood that the yokes may be omitted if desired. When the yokes are employed,

-- their function is to'move the pipe 4 downwardly. i I

A convenient but not mandatory element of the structure is a reducer 10 assembled with the lower end of the pipe 4 and threaded or otherwise secured to a ring 11 into which is threaded an upper telescoping member 12 comprising parts 14 and 15 of different diameters, defininga shoulder 16, the part 14'; whichis the upper part, being At its lower end, the part 15 of the upper telescoping member 12 is supplied with an inwardly projecting annular rib 17.

Mounted for vertical sliding movement in the upper telescoping member 12 is an intermediate telescoping member 18 provided at its upper end with an outwardly projectin rib 19 which, cooperating with the rib 1% on the upper telescoping member 12, limits of greater diameter than the lower part 15.

the downward movement of the member 18 Y with respect to the member 12 when the parts are arranged as shown in Fig; 1 and while the device is being lowered into the well. Mounted in the intermediate telescoping member 18 are cotter pins 20 adaptedto be sheared off by the action of the lower end of the part 15 of the upper telescoping member 12, the. cotter pins.20 servingto prevent a downward movement of the upper telescoping member 12 until such a time as the anchor or foot tube 32, to be describedhereinafter, has come into contact with the bottom of the well. At its lower end, the intermediate telescoping member l8 is supplied with an inwardly projecting annular rib 21.

Mounted to move within the contour of the intermediate telescoping member 18 1s a lower telescoping member 22 provided at its upper end with an outwardly pro1ect1ng rib 23 which, coacting with the rib 21 on the intermediate telescoping member-18,prevents a downward movement of the lower telescoping member 22 while the structure is being lowered. Mounted in the lower telescoping member 22 and coacting w1th the lower edge of the intermediate telescoping member 18 are cotter pins 24. Preferably, there are more of the cotter pins 20 than there are of the cotter pins 2 1, or if the cotter pins 24 and 20 are supplied in equal numbers, then the cotter pins 20 are stronger than the cotter pins 24:, so that the elements 24 will shearoff before the elements 20 will shear off. The lower telescoping member 22 is provided with openings 25. Intermediate its ends, but relatively near to its lower end, the telescoping mem: ber 22 is supplied with an annular shoulder 26. Secured to the lower end of the lower telescoping n ember 22 by threading or otherwise is a ring 27 having an outwardly' projecting flange 28 adapted to cooperate with an inwardly projecting rib 29 on a tube 30 connected with a cage 31, the cage 31 being united with an anchor or foot tube 32. V

Surrounding the lower telescoping member 22 is a tubular packing element 33, which, while the structure is being lowered, abuts against the rib 29 on the upper end of the tube 30. The resilient packing element 33 is tightly constricted at its lower end on the lower telescoping member 22, by means of a wire binder 3 1 located below the shoulder 26. Disposed within the packing element 33 and located above the shoulder 26, as shown in Fig. 3, while the structure is being lowered, is an annular knife 35 having an inwardly projecting flange 36 adapted to cooperate with the shoulder 26.

Let it be supposed that the structure is arranged as shown in Fig. 1 and is being lowered into the well. Then the operation is as follows. When the anchor 32 is firmly seated on the bottom of the well, the pins 24 shear 01f first, because they are weaker or fewer in number than the pins 20. The intermediate telescoping member 18 then moves downwardly inside of the packing element 33 and expands the same. Subsequently, the pins 29 shear off, after the telescoping member 18 is seated, and the upper telescoping member 12 moves downwardly, the packing element 33 being, expanded still further by the parts 15 and 14,

in a manner which will be obvious from Fig. 2. \Vhen the intermediate member 18 moves downwardly, the same engages the tubular knife 35, which is arranged as shown in Fig. 3. The knife 35 then is pushed downwardly until the flange 36 coacts with the shoulder 26, as shown in Fig. 4,. A ring 50 is cut off from the lower end of the packing element 33 and the packing element 33 is freed from the lower telescoping member 22, whereupon the same will move downwardly into the position shown in Fig. 2, into contact with a shoulder 37 on the tube 30.

Especial attention is directed to the knife 35 and its function. The packing element 33 must be securely attached to the lower telescoping member 22, in order to prevent the packing element from being blown upwardly by high gas pressure within the well. Heretofore, it has been impossible, practically, to wire the member 33 onto the part 22 with sufficient strength, for the reason that if the packing element 33 is too strongly attached to the member 22, the member 22 cannot slide downwardly through the packing element 33. In 'the present form of the invention, owing to the provision of-the knife 35-, the wire binding 26 may be wrapped as tightly as desired around the packing element 33, below the shoulder 26 and, further, the shoulder 26,

which is a new element, cooperates with the wire binding 34 to hold the packing element 33 securely on the tube 22.

It frequently happens that there is a strong gas pressurenwithin the well and this pressure must be relieved .while the device is being lowered. Noting Fig. 1 of the drawings it will be observed that the, openings 35 in the member 22 lie above the packing element 33 while the structure is being lowered. Consequently, the gas flowing upwardly through the parts 30 and 22 may pass outwardly throughthe openings 25 and will not rush up through the parts 18, 12, 10 and 4. When, however the structure is seated in the bottom of the well, as

shown in Fig. 2, the gas does not escape outwardly through the openings 25, around the sides of the parts 18, 12 and 10, but passes upwardly therethrough.

The construction of the device is such that an unusually thick, heavy and strong packing element 33 may be employed. Heretofore it has been necessary to make the packing element 33 thin, in order that the gas may escape upwardly around the outside of the packing element. In the present instance, the packing element may be made as thick as desired, the gas passing upwardly through the interior of the part 22 and being discharged outwardly through the openings 25 while the structure is being lowered.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A device of the class described comprising a lower member; a packing surrounding the lower member; an intermediate member mounted to slide downwardly between theilower member and the packing; an upper member mounted'to slide downwardly between the intermediate member and the packing; an upper shearing means limiting relative movement between the upper member and the intermediate member; and a lower shearing means limiting the relative movement of the intermediate member with respectto the lower member, the lower shearing means being weaker than the upper shearing means to permit the intermediate member to move with respect to the lower member before the upper member moves with respect to the intermediate member.

2. In a device of the class described, a lower member; a packing surroundin the lower member; a support for the pac ing; a binder constricting the packing on the lower member; a knife surrounding the lower member and located within the packing; a spreader movable downwardly on the outside of the lower member and within the packing, the knife being downwardly movable under the action of the spreader to cut off a ring from the packing opposite to the binder, and to permit the lower member to move downwardly through the packin In a device of the class described, a lower member having a shoulder; a packing surrounding the lower member; a support for the packing; a binder constricting the packing upon the lower'member below the shoulder; a knife surrounding the lower member and located within the packing; and a spreader movable downwardly on the outside of the lower member and within the packing, the knife being downwardly movable under the action of the spreader to cut a ring from the packing below the shoulder, and to permit the lower member to move downwardly through the packihg. In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LAWRENCE E. ROBINSON. Witnesses:

CHAS. D. WELoH, MARGARET M. GERGEN. 

